Binding post



Sept. 29, 1964 D. w. MATTESON BINDING POST Filed June 22. 1961 mN TO m5 E m M W D m D ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,150,911 BINDING POST Donald W. Matteson, Jackson, Mich., assignor to Cosmic Voice, Inc., Jackson, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed June 22, 1961, Ser. No. 118,858 4 Claims. (Cl. 339-254) The invention pertains to the binding post or electrical terminal art and particularly relates to a binding post employing a tension coil spring to facilitate connection between the post and associated conductors.

In the construction and assembling of electrical systems, it is often desired to employ a binding or terminal post to which a single or a plurality of conductors may be easily attached or removed. The need for a simple, economical, easily operable and dependable binding post of this type has recently arisen in the electric and electronic kit art. Educational apparatus dealing with electrical components interconnected by wire conductors require the need of such terminals and the instant invention, though not limited to, is particularly useful in this field.

Coil spring binding posts, wherein a wire is wound in a helical fashion to produce a tension spring and conductors may be interposed between the coils of the spring, are known as shown in US. Patent No. 640,479. The invention is directed to an improvement of such binding posts and it is a basic object of the invention to provide a tension coil spring binding post wherein a plurality of con ductors may be afiixed to a single post in an easily accomplished manner. While the binding post terminal disclosed in Patent No. 640,479 is readily employed with a single conductor, the attachment of a plurality of conductors to a single spring causes difficulty in that the expansion of the spring during the insertion of a conductor often permits the previously attached conductors to disassemble themselves from the coils.

It is therefore an object of the invention to produce a tension spring binding post wherein the spring is axially expanded during assembly with the conductors, yet conductors previously attached to the spring will not become disengaged therefrom upon spring expansion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a binding post of economical, dependable, and readily operable construction which may be readily mounted to conventional mounting surfaces.

These and other objects of the invention arriving from the relationships and details of the components of embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of two identical binding posts in accord with the invention, one of the posts being in the operative position and the other post shown as extended during insertion of conductors between the coils thereof,

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the binding post embodiment of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an elevational sectional view taken along section III-III of FIG. 1, and

FIGS. 4 through 6 are perspective views of other embodiments of the invention.

The components of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3 may be best appreciated from FIG. 2 and include a tension spring member 10, a cylindrical, slotted conductor retainer and spring housing member 12, and the mounting screw 14. The spring member 10 is identical in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, and consists of a spirally wound wire wherein the coils are in such tension that adjacent coils are normally in closed contiguous relation. The upper coil 16 is preferably deflected upwardly from the general spring configuration to define a handle member which may be gripped by the ice operator. The lower coil 18 is preferably formed of a smaller diameter than the other coils and defines a hole which receives the mounting screw 14 whereby the spring and retainer may be mounted, FIG. 3.

The retainer housing 12 is of substantially cylindrical configuration having a plurality of notches or slots 20 defined therein and extending substantially the axial length thereof. The number of slots may vary, four being shown in the illustrated embodiment. The notches 20 are defined by a plurality of upwardly extending finger members 22 and the radially extending base portion 24 of the retainer 12 is provided with a hole 26 through which the mounting screw 14 extends.

The assembly of the components of the invention will be appreciated from FIG. 3 wherein the spring coil 10 is located within the retainer 12 between the fingers 22 and the screw 14, bearing upon the coil 18, maintains the assembly of the retainer and spring and atfixes the unit to the support 28.

In operation, when it is desired to attach an electrical conductor or conductors 30 to the spring, the operator grasps the coil 16 and axially expands the spring as shown by the right hand post of FIG. 1. Extension of the spring axially displaces the spring coils permitting a conductor 30, usually a wire, to be axially inserted between the spring coils. Release of the coil 16 permits the spring to contract and intimately grip the conductor between the adjacent coils. When it is desired to insert additional connectors through the coils of the binding posts, the operator repeats the described operation wherein the conductor will always be inserted into the spring at a location immediate fingers 22. Thus, each time the spring is extended, conductors which have been previously inserted into the spring will not tend to slip laterally from the confines of the spring due to the retaining influence of the fingers 22. By using four fingers 22, conductors may be inserted into the spring at intervals and if more fingers are employed, the possible angular relationships between the coil and conductors may be increased. For optimum results the conductors are preferably inserted completely through the spring that the conductor will engage the spring at two locations.

When it is desired to remove a conductor from the binding post, the operator grasps spring coil 16 and lifts upwardly to expand the spring and by exerting an axial pull on the conductor removes the same from the spring coils. Thus, the spring will maintain an intimate engagement with the conductor whereby a plurality of conductors may be associated with a common spring an efiiciently electrically interconnect the conductors. The fingers 22 prevent accidental disengagement of the conductors during expansion of the spring, or due to lateral forces being imposed upon the conductor and permit a single conductor to be disengaged from the spring without effecting the assembly of other conductors with the same spring.

In the embodiment in FIG. 4 the spring 10 is identical to that in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4. However, the conductor retainer member 32 is provided with a plurality of holes 34, rather than slots and fingers. The holes 34 are preferably formed in diametrically opposed pairs defined in the cylindrical retainer member 32 and, likewise, prevent lateral displacement of the conductors inserted therein relative to the spring axis.

In the embodiment in FIG. 5, the aforedescribed spring member 10 is also employed and the conductor retainer 36 is provided with elongated axially extending slots 38. In this embodiment the openings 38 are also preferably formed in diametrically opposed pairs to permit the conductor to be extended completely through the spring. In FIG. 5 a machine screw and nut assembly 40 is disclosed in substitution for the wood screw 14. It will be appreciated that the fastening member extending through spring coil 18 may take any conventional form.

The embodiment of FIG. 6 is directed to a binding post employing the basic principles of the invention wherein the conductor retaining members are formed from the wire defining the spring coil itself. In this embodiment the spring coil andconductor retainer constitute a unitary component. The embodiment of FIG. 6 consists of a wire wound in a tension spring manner to form a plurality of coils 42. As illustrated, the coils 42 are shown in an expanded position as to receive a conductor therebetween, but normally assume the contiguous relation similar to spring 10.

The upper coil 44 is bent upwardly to define a handle. At the bottom of the coils 42 a small coil 46 is defined and includes a radially extending portion 48 which is formed in an upward manner at 50 and circumferentially at 52 and downward at 54 and so on about the circumference of the coils 42 to define a coil receiving recess whereby the vertically extending portions 50, 54, etc. de-' fine a plurality of conductor retaining elements. A screw of other similar fastening member is inserted through coil 46 to mount the binding post of FIG. 6 to a support surface.

It will therefore be appreciated that the invention contemplates a simple and easily manufacturable binding post using a tension spring to maintain an intimate engagement with a conductor, and the use of the axially extending conductor retainers prevent accidental disassembly of the spring coils and conductors and permits a plurality of conductors to be associated with a common post.

It is understood that various embodiments of the invention, other than those illustrated, may be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is intended that the inven tion be defined only by the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A binding post comprising, in combination, an elongated cup-like conductor retainer having a longitudinal axis, a first end and an open second end, said retainer including a radially disposed base portion substantially enclosing said retainer first end, said retainer including a wall portion, said wall portion consisting of a plurality of spaced fingers extending from said base portion, said fingers including free terminating ends defining said open second end of said retainer, an opening defined in said base portion, a tension coil spring defined by contiguous adjacent coils received within said retainer, said coil spring having a first end disposed adjacent said retainer base portion and a second end disposed adjacent said retainer second end, said retainer second end permitting said spring second end to extend therefrom upon extension of said spring, and fastening means adapted to afiix said spring first end to said retainer base portion and extend through said base portion opening.

2. In a binding post as in claim 1, wherein a convolution of said spring adjacent said second end thereof is deformed from the general spring configuration to define a handle extending from said second end of said retainer.

3. In a binding post as in claim 1, wherein said fingers are disposed parallel to each other and the longitudinal axis of said retainer, each of said fingers being in opposed diametrical relation to another finger with regard to said longitudinal axis whereby diametrically opposed conductor receiving slots are defined by said fingers.

4. In a binding post as in claim 1 wherein said first end of said spring is defined by a spring coil of reduced diametrical dimension with respect to the other coils of said spring, said fastener extending through said coil of reduced dimension.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 916,435 Gould Mar. 30, 1909 1,642,695 Pumphery Sept. 20, 1927 1,776,859 Johnston Sept. 30, 1930 2,792,560 Bollmeier May 14, 1957 3,066,274 Ellis Nov. 27, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 223,093 Great Britain Oct. 16, 1924 294,305 Great Britain July 26, 1928 58,657 Norway Nov. 15, 1937 112,291 Switzerland Oct. 16, 1925 

1. A BINDING POST COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, AN ELONGATED CUP-LIKE CONDUCTOR RETAINER HAVING A LONGITUDINAL AXIS, A FIRST END AND AN OPEN SECOND END, SAID RETAINER INCLUDING A RADIALLY DISPOSED BASE PORTION SUBSTANTIALLY ENCLOSING SAID RETAINER FIRST END, SAID RETAINER INCLUDING A WALL PORTION, SAID WALL PORTION CONSISTING OF A PLURALITY OF SPACED FINGERS EXTENDING FROM SAID BASE PORTION, SAID FINGERS INCLUDING FREE TERMINATING ENDS DEFINING SAID OPEN SECOND END OF SAID RETAINER, AN OPENING DEFINED IN SAID BASE PORTION, A TENSION COIL SPRING DEFINED BY CONTIGUOUS ADJACENT COILS RECEIVED WITHIN SAID RETAINER, SAID COIL SPRING HAVING A FIRST END DISPOSED ADJACENT SAID RETAINER BASE PORTION AND A SECOND END DISPOSED ADJACENT SAID RETAINER SECOND END, SAID RETAINER SECOND END PERMITTING SAID SPRING SECOND END TO EXTEND THEREFROM UPON EXTENSION OF SAID SPRING, AND FASTENING MEANS ADAPTED TO AFFIX SAID SPRING FIRST END TO SAID RETAINER BASE PORTION AND EXTEND THROUGH SAID BASE PORTION OPENING. 